February 6, 2017

UFF PHOOEY: Dentists and Doctors and Bills, Oh MY

Today was pretty painful. We had a $250 bill for past medical copays, only $50 of which was in this year and thus can be reimbursed from the 2018 FSA.

Also got the remaining bill from UFF Boy's wisdom teeth removal on December 30th. $1132, all non-reimbursable because that $2500 2017 FSA was used up a long time ago.

Dental insurance paid a grand total of $225 out of the $2033.00 bill.

We have the money available, but it means draining our short-term cash emergency fund and dipping halfway into the first tuition payment fund.

I am so kicking myself for not postponing the procedure until after January 1st.

Money spent: $1382 on medical expenses. Sigh.

Do you have any Frugal Phooeys to share (and help me feel better?)

February 5, 2017

UFF Takes the Long View: Saving Money by Taking Care of Your Teeth

Without going into the boring details, I will just say that we have, and have had, some dental issues in our family (what family doesn't?!). And dental care, as you know, is very, very expensive.

We are so fortunate to have dental insurance coverage for the UFF members provided through my job. It caps at $1000 per person per year, which sounds like a reasonable amount of money. If a person has two teeth cleanings a year, a dental evaluation, and x-rays, this is sufficient. Add on any more than that, however (orthodontia, wisdom teeth removal, more frequent cleanings, dental procedures of any kind) and that number is exceeded faster than you can say fluoride.

Our next UFF defense against dental bills is a Flex Spending Account. This allows me to set aside money pre-tax (capped at $2,500 yearly) that can be used to reimburse for health expenses. Not only is the money not taxed, but it's less painful to have it already removed from take-home pay. For the past THREE years however, our family of four has exceeded the FSA by upwards of $1000. The culprit is always dental bills.

Which brings me to this: boring old daily maintenance routines are SO worth the time!

Brushing, flossing, and whatever else your dentist recommends are about the least exciting things you do in a day. If you're like me, and rush around in the morning, or want to stay up a little later doing something more fun (knitting!), it's tempting to skip a step or abbreviate the process. But I beg of you, don't: you will pay in the end.

I have a time-consuming dentist-recommended regimen that consists of using a rubber-tip gum massager, flossing, two minutes of brushing with an electric toothbrush, and fluoride applications. Just writing it out is tedious. It's taken me a long time to overcome my laziness and follow this practice nightly, but I'm there now.

As I look back at our dental spending, I see that we've paid over a thousand dollars out of pocket for dental procedures each year just for me, UFF Mom. Yikes. Of course, I'll do what needs to be done to take care of health issues, because it's a foundational priority. But my hope is that some of this can be postponed in the future (or made unnecessary) by upping my self-care.

So…I'm going to harness the power of habit and try to  do this whole cleaning routine in the morning too. Twice a day. Just have to get up a little earlier!

What boring maintenance routines have you used to save money in the long term?

February 4, 2017

Frugal Weekend Fun-Running a Race!

Really much muddier than you can see here

As I mentioned before, I love to run (actually jog slowly) and the camaraderie of running in races. But entering races can be a fairly expensive hobby. My solution to this dilemma has been to volunteer with a small family-run racing company at events (usually shorter road races, which I don't enjoy as much) where I can earn credits, and then participate myself in their very well-run and not overly commercial races as a runner (usually the mid to longer distance trail races, which I love).

So…today was a day of redeeming race credits! The event was held in a beautiful state park, next to a river, on flat, soft (VERY soft) trails. Runners could choose from a 5 mile, 10 mile, 15 mile, or 30 mile option, with everyone going around the same big loop multiple times (or once). I did the 10 mile distance, to the mild relief of UFF Dad, who I dragged out of bed to go with me (to volunteer and earn…more credits!)

It was great. I know that spending hours in the drizzling rain, jogging in remote areas of a state park in ankle-deep mud while fording streams and dodging piles of horse poop, is not everyone's idea of a perfect Saturday morning…am I right? But it's actually way more fun than that description conveys.  First, there are the runners. Almost to a one, the people I crossed paths with made a point of making eye contact and saying "Great job", "You've got this", "Way to go" as they passed and looped other runners, or at least acknowledged each other's efforts with a smile and wave. There were runners between the ages of 14-69 participating in one of the events (interestingly, more older folks in the longer runs). Second, mud! How often do we get to go play in the mud as adults? I did even more than most, since I hit a tree root and face planted within the first mile. I was completely unhurt, but spent the next mile amusing myself thinking about how much fun it would be to post a picture of my mud-soaked self with the hash tag #dresslikeawoman. It also meant that I really didn't have to bother trying to go around future mud puddles, since the damage was done. Finally, delicious food and drink at the end, while experiencing post-run euphoria (or post-volunteering relief). Both UFF Dad and I had an ample lunch before leaving--a bowl of soup (broccoli cheese and Southwestern tomato corn), bagels, trail mix, chips, fruit, and cookies. We even took home a bottle of local craft beer each, which I plan to save for later.

The rest of the afternoon has been a nice, mellow, home day. I made a big batch of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies to try to make it up to UFF Dad (he is infinitely supportive, but not really into running), did laundry, washed dishes, and hope to spend some couch knitting time (with Grantchester Season 2) once the other weekly home tasks are finished (mopping the floor and cleaning the bathrooms, if you are interested to know). Normally UFF Dad and I split these, but again, he was such a good sport about getting out of bed to go stand in the mud under drizzle for two hours….

Money spent today: $0

What kind of frugal weekend fun did you have today?

February 3, 2017

Whew! Welcome to the weekend!

I'm really looking forward to some relaxing uber-frugal fun this weekend, including some cooking and baking. I've been inspired and ever so slightly disheartened by all the delicious and impressive recipes posted on the Frugal Girl and Mrs. Picky Pincher's websites, by the authors and their readers. In my defense, I have a mildly challenging group to cook for: UFF Dad and UFF Boy are both vegetarians, neither like a whole lot of vegetables, and UFF Boy is among the pickiest eaters I have ever met. I think hope he is beginning to grow out of it a tiny bit. Dinners have become less about concocting tasty recipes and more about assembling a balanced plate and trying to reach the minimum servings of fruits and vegetables for those two.

UFF Dad graciously went to Winco today and did a stock-up shopping, to the painful tune of $169.66. He did get a lot of food (using my list!) plus an extra bag of dog food and ibuprofen for our emergency supplies, but…ouch.

Although I am very grateful not to use my precious weekend time at Winco, I think I would like a little more executive control over the grocery shopping process. It makes a difference when one (ahem) is used to checking the by-unit price, comparing brands and choosing a less expensive equivalent. We may start going together in the future….

If you live in a household with other people, who does the grocery shopping, and why?

February 2, 2016

It's Thursday! I was back to work and feeling much better today. I actually walked in (slowly). As I walked, I had a great time thinking about things to post here. Just wait until you get to hear about my thrilling past "Uber Frugal Phooeys", such as the time I tried making cloth toilet paper (believe me, my children looooved that). And today's: while I was ill, I forgot to check on my library book dates and deadlines, and was consequently fined. Once fines top $10, no more check-outs are allowable. I can't be without library access, so I paid that bill and walked out with my reserved copy of Grantchester Season 2, along with a couple of travel guides and a music CD. I LOVE my library!

We have some possible freezing rain scheduled, making me nervous with our bare cupboards (why do winter storms always seem to hit when I'm almost out of food?!). UFF Dad did a small grocery shopping, but I implored him to hold off for more until a trip can be made to our discount Winco, a 20 minute drive. Once I started looked at prices item by item, I realized how much the small differences add up, especially for a trip to stock up.

Today's spending: $20.49 for pinch-hit groceries:  Oats, Bananas, Carrots, Milk, Eggs. UFF Dad might have added an unauthorized bottle of sparkling water and some frozen juice mix. No comments from me. I don't want to be the grocery police….

February 1, 2017

A new month, a continuing challenge.

I did well with cutting expenses and saving last month, without too much discomfort. If we can keep this up, we will be on track to meet my primary financial goals for this year: Paying our family contribution to UFF Son's college tuition and expenses ( it goes up every year, le sigh) while fully funding retirement accounts.

Here are some great changes we instituted in Uber Frugal January:

• Settled on 66 degrees as a livable setting for the downstairs thermostat. It was at a shocking 75 degrees as January started! 
• Stopped using the attic wall heating unit in UFF Parent's third-floor sleeping quarters, and put six comforters on the bed. Ahhh, cozy. 
• UFF Dad installed a cute 5-minute shower timer in the bathroom.
• Worked on streamlining meals and eating more healthy, frugal bulk items like whole beans and grains. Also, counting fruit! Thanks to Mrs. Frugalwood for this idea. I wish I had the cooking creativity and skill of Mrs. Picky Pincher, who creates incredibly yummy and varied weekly menus. Baked more snack foods for UFF Boy (like blueberry muffins).

Here are some things that I did NOT spend money on last month that I usually would have:

• Taking a friend/coworker to coffee. Instead we went on walks together.
• Yarn from an artist materials recycling center. I have enough yarn that I could knit for a year and still have some left over. 
• Red wine for myself. This may be a sacred cow, I'm not sure yet. 

I am now heading back to bed to nurse my virus under the six comforters. Ciao…

Are you continuing the Uber Frugal Challenge into February? Do tell!

January Do the Numbers

Monthly round-up time.

I've been hit hard by whatever viral nastiness UFF Dad had last week, so I was weak today.

He picked me up early from work and on the way home, we stopped at our corner convenience store and bought a gallon of hazelnut fudge ice cream (UFF Boy's request) to help with all the sore throats in the family. $5.49, ouch.

Also, I regret any comments I might have made about UFF Dad being a little melodramatic with all his moaning and carrying on. It feels really good to moan and complain when you are sick.

This month's round-up focuses on the expenses that I pay directly: groceries, household, gifts, etc. I want to tackle the gas and utility bills, but that will be another month.

My basic goal is to save AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE each month for two things: our family contribution to UFF Son's college tuition and living expenses (we won't know how much this is until July, causing some stress) and then our IRA accounts for 2018 (I like to contribute on New Year's Day). If both of those categories are fully funded, I will be pleased! (If there is any more left over to pay down the mortgage, I will be even more pleased, but it's not likely)

Today's spending: $5.49 (ice cream)

Monthly spending:

• Groceries and household (including dog food): $297.17 This is impressive, considering I had both UFF Son and UFF Boy eating at home for two weeks! We did quite a bit of freezer and pantry eating (they are both now bare). I also made a huge pot of lentils, rice, veggies and siracha that provided weekday lunches for almost 2 weeks for UFF Dad and I, and we had oatmeal EVERY day for breakfast.
• Gifts: $75.50  I budget $200 a month for gifts into a separate category, though it is not all always used and sometimes rolls into IRA contributions. This is mainly for four family members,  plus other friends and family.
• Alcohol: $17 One bottle of wine to take to a friend's and one box of white wine that UFF Dad purchased. Doesn't include the wine and whiskey we had on hand...
• Eating out/socializing: $20.49 Beer and fries out with friends,  and a baby shower lunch
• Medicine: $42.30 Will be reimbursed by this year's pre-tax Flex Spending Account
• Other medical expenses: $175.00 Expenses incurred last year after FSA already used up

So…not bad! Could be better. Is it sustainable? Can it be improved upon? Time will tell!

How was your Uber Frugal January Challenge month? Please share!